The Irish Angus Exhibition Centre at the National Ploughing Championships was a hive of activity last week as RTÉ broadcaster Miriam O’Callaghan presented a number of secondary school groups from around the country with five Irish Angus-cross calves to rear as part of a unique secondary schools competition.

The Certified Irish Angus Beef Schools Competition, run by the Irish Angus Producer Group, along with its processor partners ABP Ireland and Kepak, aims to encourage second-level students to gain an understanding about the care and attention that is required to produce and market high-quality beef for consumers.

This year’s winning teams from Glenamaddy Community School, Galway; Ashbourne Community School, Meath; Davis College, Cork; Laurel Hill Secondary School, Limerick; and Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown, Co Roscommon; brought their calves home from the National Ploughing Championships to rear for the next 18 months until their slaughter in 2019. In addition to rearing the calves, the schools will complete a project focusing on a different aspect of farming and the food chain.

1) Mental health and wellbeing among farmers

Glenamaddy Community School, Galway, will undertake a project to highlight to farmers the importance of mental health and wellbeing. This will focus on ways to reduce stress, draw on support from family and the community and achieve a sense of job satisfaction.

Glenamaddy Community School: (l-r) Cathal Moran, Miriam O’Callaghan, John Duignan. \ Finbarr O’Rourke

2) Viability of dairy-cross Angus beef production

Ashbourne Community School, Meath, will explore the viability of dairy-cross Angus beef production. This will include assessing the benefits for both the dairy and beef farmer, analysing suitability to Irish conditions and best practice for the production of dairy-cross Angus cattle as calves at grass.

Ashbourne Community School: (l-r) Miriam O’Callaghan, Ella Smyth, David Corry, Hannah Keogh, Kellie Ward. \ Finbarr O’Rourke

3) Versatility of certified Irish Angus beef

Davis College, Cork, will highlight the versatility of certified Irish Angus beef for consumers. They will analyse the factors that affect the quality of beef, explore its flavour profile and develop a creative approach to making beef more appealing for families and children.

Davis College: (l-r) Pierce Buckley, Roisin Scully, Miriam O’Callaghan, Emily O’Callaghan, Noah Butler. \ Finbarr O’Rourke

4) The importance of Irish agriculture

Laurel Hill Secondary School, Limerick, will undertake a project to create consumer awareness about the importance of the Irish agricultural industry and the role of farmers. They will also explore the importance of animal welfare, the history of Angus in Ireland and why Irish beef is recognised as superior all over the world.

Laurel Hill: (l-r) Emily Walsh, Aoibhinn Leahy, Aishling O’Neill, Miriam O’Callaghan, Susan O’Neill, Jane McNamara. \ Finbarr O’Rourke

5) The role of production planning

Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown, Co Roscommon, will explore the importance of planning production on farms. They will profile best practice in production systems and assess the suitability of the farming system in relation to land type.

Scoil Mhuire (l-r): Ciaran McManus, Miriam O’Callaghan, Dylan Cronin, Conor Murphy. \ Finbarr O’Rourke

The Certified Irish Angus Beef Schools Competition aims to allow students to apply the knowledge they learn in the classroom to a real-life setting.

Each of the finalists will receive the financial benefit involved in the selling of the animals to the processors on completion of the project. The overall winning students will also receive an additional grant of €2,000 for their further education.

2018 competition launched

The Ploughing also played host to the official launch of next year’s competition.

The Irish Angus Producer Group is currently seeking video applications from transition year students with a keen interest in promoting excellence in beef production.

Following an extensive interview process, 30 schools will be shortlisted to present their project ideas to industry representatives at an event in Croke Park in March 2018 and five groups will then each receive a number of Angus-cross calves at the National Ploughing Championships in 2018.

Speaking in the Irish Angus exhibition centre last week, Irish Angus Producer Group general manager Charles Smith said: “We have been delighted with the success of this competition to date and have been hugely impressed with the quality of the projects and commitment of the students who have taken part over the last number of years.

“It is wonderful to witness how the groups grow and learn about the role of Irish farming and merits of the certified Irish Angus brand over the 18 months of the competition. We look forward to receiving entries over the coming months and to presenting the next batch of successful finalists with their calves at next year’s Ploughing.”

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